Monday, December 17, 2012

Me on Live Through This

From the outside, Coley's life seems pretty normal. It's not perfect, her best friend is mad at her, but her adorable crush Reese is a welcome distraction. Plus, she's got a great family to fall back on with a mom and step-dad who would stop at nothing to keep her and her siblings happy. But Coley has some secrets, some she won't dare admit even to herself, like how her near-perfect life is a façade. Like how she's been hiding the shame and guilt of a relationship that crossed the line. Now that she's got her first real chance to have a boyfriend, a decade's worth of lies are on the verge of unraveling.

Live Through This is an unexpected eye-opener, a look into a carefully crafted world hiding some dark and painful secrets. Coley is hiding something and she's trying to continue with her life, trying to live through it, but masks never last for long and all too soon for Coley, afraid of facing the truth, it crumbles at her feet. This book is honest and emotional, highlighting some serious trauma rarely discussed but very important.

I'm often torn when it comes to issue books, especially those that discuss sexual abuse. Books like that tend to hit hard with me because no one should ever have to feel the shame and pain of being sexually assaulted. It's possibly why I don't personally read a lot of issue books. Books that make me feel emotional, that make my heart hurt, are amazing, but it's different when I feel helpless to stop the suffering of the character.

That being said, this was a wonderful eye-opener of a book. It starts like a shot, like a punch to the chest, and it kept me on edge even when Coley put on her mask and tried to live her normal life. The sexual abuse that Coley experiences come from a place she wouldn't expect it to come from, a place of love and trust. But then it evolves, changing to something closer to confusion, and it leaves her in a dark place she can't escape but wants desperately to run from. She doesn't know what to do, and so she hides, hides behind a bright smile and genuine affection for her friends and family.

Books like this, while sensitive in nature, are powerful because of the message they carry. Profound, emotional, and so realistic, Coley's story needs to be passed on to others.